CML Visit German Pre-Season Race
CML Team Manager Dave Duggan reports back from his latest globe-trotting adventures through the world of international RC racing.
Craig Drescher and myself were fortunate enough to attend the Pre-Season race held in Germany at the excellent Rhein-Mein Circuit in Bischofsheim, just outside Frankfurt this weekend. We had been invited by our friends at Thunder Tiger Europe, the German Team Associated distributor and gladly accepted the invite and the chance to work with the German Associated guys at this spectacular track. We gave ourselves a pretty tight schedule and after the proceeding weeks flights problems we feared the worst. However, the flight back log was cleared in the nick of time and at 7.00a.m. Friday morning we were wheels up from Birmingham International, arriving in Frankfurt 1hr and 15mins later.
Andreas Ertl from the TTE team picked us up and took us directly to the track which took about 15 minutes and as we arrived the practice sessions were just about to get under way. Andreas and his friend Jan, kindly supplied a pit table and chairs for us and we set about getting ready for the first round of practice.
We took a good look at the track which was packed with features, triples, doubles, washboard section, banked corners and raised sections which all combined to create a difficult challenge for the drivers. After practice our heads were spinning a little as we had packed a lot into a the day and we weren’t finished at the track until after 8.30p.m. A quick visit to the golden arches and then off to the hotel to get some sleep.
The RC8B’s of the Associated Team.
Qualifying got underway on Saturday and, with 5 rounds to complete, it was going to be a very long day indeed. We took some set up advice from Tim Bremicker, a top German racer and new addition to the AE Team for 2010, and also Christoffer Svensson from Sweden who is fondly known as ‘chop chop’ to his English friends. Both driver’s RC8B cars had looked good throughout practice.
Craig had a tough day in which we couldn’t quite get the car and engine to his liking and as a result he struggled to find a really good rhythm on a track that demands you have confidence in both. Not only was it tough but the qualifying sessions would finish in the dark at close on 10.00pm which was possible as they have floodlights at the track. In fact the only real thing you could fault the track on the location of the rostrum which faces directly into the setting sun, making racing in the evening very tricky for vision.
The overall TQ went to Jorn Neumann. Jorn had tested recently at the track and it showed in both his driving and car set up, both of which looked excellent. Svensson got close to his pace and was as ever, very spectacular on his way to those times. Craig did qualify directly into the semi finals which was not a bad result after the fraught qualifying runs we had endured! Anyway, Sunday was to be a new day and we headed off late with Andreas and Jan to get a curry (made us feel right at home!) and bed.
Up early Sunday and back to the track to help some of the AE guys in lower finals before getting down to business ourselves. The semi-final practice was up and we felt like we might have got somewhere close with both set up and engine tune. We ran some XTR Proline Revolvers which scrubbed in nicely after the 5 mins ready for the 20 minute semi final. The track surface was actually very abrasive which was giving people food for thought with regard to the main final.
Craig Drescher working closely with Christoffer Svensson (left) and tour guide for the weekend Andreas Ertl (right).
Unfortunately the semi final didn’t go to plan for Craig. He was in contention and comfortably in a bump up position when, after a crash in the washboards, it looked like the marshal stopped the flywheel as he turned it over. An unfortunate end to a tough few days and despite a hard charge to make up the time Craig just fell short and would not transfer to the main final. Both Christoffer and Tim placed their cars in the final to give AE a fighting chance of a good result.
Christoffer made a good start to the main, and was in a fight with Daniel Reckward and Hupo Honigl for second place for much of the first 30 minutes of the race. A couple of key mistakes in bad places meant he eventually dropped back from the fight and had to settle for 4th. Tim had a tyre issue that lead to his retirement. It was no surprise that Jorn took a strong win after dominating the meeting. He built a lead early on and then settled into a cruise while the others scrapped over 2nd place.
So despite a poor result racing wise, it was a good, fun trip that was blessed with very warm weather and allowed us to meet up with some good people. Hakan Thern (father of CML sponsored Linus) was there assisting some friends from Sweden and as always we had great fun, although they kept him busy with both Kenny and Keilja (when she and Hakan weren’t asleep!) see pictures below.
It was a day of none stop excitement.
This is definitely a race we like to return to in the future as the facilities and the people were fantastic. We must thank Andreas Ertl, Jan and ‘little’ Robert for putting up with us over the weekend and helping us so much. Thanks guys.
Source: CML Distribution
